Home Sweet Home
by shygryf
Summary: Sometimes you have to go home again


Title:

**Title: ****Home Sweet Home**

**Summary:** Sometimes you _have_ togo home again

**Rating:** PG-13  
**Warnings: ****none that I can think of**

**Pairing:** Gen

**Word Count:** 1194

**Prompt:** Charlie returns home (you decide why) and has to live with his mother (temporarily, of course)

**Author's Note:** Thanks to thesteppyone for the beta and the brit pick.

It seemed to be simple enough. With his hut destroyed in the fire, and Dumbledore gone, Hagrid wanted to be with his true love, Norberta. Giant blood made healing from burns easier, and having someone who could carry hundreds of pounds of meat at feeding time was a definite benefit to the reserve.

Charlie had been offered the teaching position at Hogwarts, which would bring him closer to his family, growing ever larger. Teaching new recruits and showing jinxes to Fred and George had never made up for missing the joy he got as a Prefect and tutor.

They were both ready for a change of pace, and this was a perfect opportunity for them

Both. Hagrid had started right away and Charlie would leave once mating season was over.

Charlie's dad had a saying about things sounding too good to be true.

Charlie had forgotten that mating season ended six weeks before term began. Professors' quarters didn't open until two weeks before term. He had no time to find a new place. Once his mum heard about Professor Weasley, She insisted he come home. He had no alternative to give her. Shell Cottage was out of the question with pregnant Fleur and wolfish Bill. Lee and Angelina were living above the shop with George. Charlie wasn't sure who, if anyone, was sleeping in Fred's room, and wasn't keen to ask. Percy had a floberworm-sized flat, and Ron and Ginny were at The Burrow. Which was apparently where he would be.

Charlie loved The Burrow. It held some perfect memories. He was looking forward to re acquainting himself with his siblings and getting to know Harry and Hermione. He wasn't excited that it would be known that the youngest professor currently on staff lived with his parents. He doubted it would make him seem anymore mature.

Most of all he was bemoaning the absence of all privacy. He shipped all items of a "questionable nature" to Bill for placement in a vault. He would purchase pyjamas so that his mother wouldn't get a shock when she came to put away his clean laundry. He would offer to do his own laundry, but he knew his mother would never pass up an excuse for snooping.

***

The first week wasn't so bad. He made sure to take at least second helpings of everything and ignore his mum when she grumbled about the length of his hair. Luckily, de-gnoming was good for stress. He scoured The Daily Prophet's classified section, pretending he was looking for furniture, and finished the lesson plans he worked out this summer with Hagrid.

Sunday dinner was everything he hoped for. He had missed the utter chaos of family dinners and didn't even mind sitting next to Auntie Muriel while she asked the same questions every five minutes. The pick up game of Quidditch was a great chance to show that he was still in great shape.

***

Week two was when things started getting bad. His mum decided that since he seemed to need furniture so badly they should go to a few jumble sales. She decided to bring his dad along "for heavy lifting". Four agonizing hours later they had found a suitable bookcase, some muggle artifact called a "lava lamp" and a few new kinds of batteries.

Charlie also ran out of gnomes to throw. He also dozed off on the settee, wakening to find that Ginny had used the latest "wonder witch" product on him. They were called "everholding hairbands" because they wouldn't release without a password. Ginny decided he should have two braids.

"Really Charlie, I've wanted to braid your hair for ages! I tried to do Bill's but he never let me."

It turns out that threatening to turn your sister into a gnome and throw her over the wall is a great way to get her to give you information.

***

During week three, he tried to spend as much time as he could justify out of the house. He "visited old friends", which really meant looking at houses and flats on the market. One such house contained a very lovely girl who was more interested in a bedmate than a flat mate. Charlie was more than happy to oblige. He hadn't even been able to wank properly with thin walls and someone always moving about. He was having quite a good time until his mother's tiger patronus came before he did.

"Where have you been? You were supposed to be home hours ago! Its nearly ten o clock!"

***

At the middle of week four, he was wishing the twins hadn't destroyed the tree fort years back. He was counting hours and trying not to count minutes. He did come up with a way to get out two days early.

"Oh that's a lovely idea Charlie! The boys need new robes before they start Auror training and the girls haven't done their shopping yet. We could make it a mini holiday for all of us."

Charlie paled, but managed to keep his cool. "Oh no Mum, we should use this chance to get out of your hair! Besides, I won't be very good company spending my time discussing textbooks for next year with Eric Blott." He could hear Ginny hurriedly packing upstairs.

Molly beamed. "Well aren't you sweet! All right, though I hate to see you leave so soon, I hope you'll be able to stay all next summer sweetheart."

Charlie was saved the trouble of answering by Ginny's breathless "Done!" the boys were standing casually by the fireplace with their bags on their shoulders. Harry was looking slightly bewildered.

"We'll use the phone in the Leaky Cauldron, to call Hermione; see you in a few days mum." Ginny kissed her mother on the cheek before stepping in the floo.

"Bye, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said awkwardly. He wasn't sure what to do, but Mrs. Weasley pulled him into a hug and gave his forehead a kiss.

"Goodbye Harry dear."

"Bye, try not to miss us too much!" Ron said. He had to bend down quite a lot to hug her.

Once Ron stepped through the floo, it was just the two of them. Molly wiped a tear. Charlie had hoped to avoid any hysterics by giving short notice, but that didn't seem to have worked out.

"Don't cry, Hogwarts is much closer than Romania. I'll be home for Christmas,"

Molly sniffed. "I'll be fine love, have a good time."

"I'll owl dad so he can stop on the way home from work. See you at Christmas. I love you." He had been itching to get out of the house since before he got there. Yet it still was hard stepping into the floo.

Ginny gave him a crushing hug when he stepped out. "Thank you, Charlie!"

"Well, Brat, it's more than you deserve after the hairbands, but you're cute so I'll forgive you." he ruffled her hair.

"Yeah, thanks Charlie. You're a lifesaver." Ron added

Harry still looked a bit confused. "Thanks for helping us with shopping Charlie, but I'm not sure what all the fuss was about."

Charlie smiled. "You'll understand in a few years."


End file.
